Oh, How I Love a Corset!

Corsets for me have always been a love affair. I love wearing them and love seeing them be worn. As a teen growing up, I wanted one so badly but a lot of the alternative wear wasn’t available in shops locally and as well, I didn’t have the kind of money to order one online. For me corsets were beautifully made garments that hugged the body in all the right places and exhibited the luxurious curves of the wearer. I’m not a terribly curvy shape and certainly wasn’t in my younger years, having been mostly athletic, so I dreamed of how a corset would mould me into that sort after hourglass shape.

My first corset was purchased for me when I was 20 years old and I wore it to death. It was a beautiful corset with black silk panels and the front middle panels had this lush red embroidery. The only thing that I came to know very quickly, was that it wasn’t steel boned, and not designed for hardy wearing. I was devastated at how quickly it began to come apart, but it was the first and only lesson I needed in making sure I never bought one like it again. I think I wore that first corset religiously until it well and truly died. I’d wear it everywhere, day or night! In summer I was able to wear the corset over a tank top with a long floaty skirt and as it got cooler I would layer it over leggings, skirts and long sleeved tops.

Lucky for me I have owned several corsets since then, and still have a few favourites which I love to put on for events and outings occasionally. I have often thought about being more dedicated to wear my corsets as I once had, (especially since it’s winter here again) but I guess my attitude towards them has been altered a bit. I’m still in total adoration for how they look, but I do prefer having unrestricted movement. Side note: Put your shoes on before your corset 😉 I still consider having a corset as a staple wardrobe item, even if I am not keen to get about wearing one everyday as I once did. Having a well-made corset as a staple item in my wardrobe is important to me because it is often a go to/ in all else fails choice. Corsets are a comfort item that I know I can count on in numerous situations, as they have never failed me.

Though I’m probably less likely to wear one just for the hell of it, when I do wear one I love the restricted, sleek and form fitting way that I move. In this way, corsets here have become a tool for obedience and control. When he instructs me to wear my corset and how to wear it, it focuses my movement and posture the way he wants to see it. Often because I haven’t worn it in very long, there is a certain aspect of adjustment in mental and physical restriction that forces me to let go of my own ego and just do as I am told.